Chained Skybird
by JokertheMatrix
Summary: Devil and Angel AU. One-shot. Animals are simple beings. It's best not to confuse them. Partner fic to "Nothing to Lose". Rated T for swearing and violence. Sequel of A Game of Cat and Mouse


_Happy Thanksgiving! I'd like to thank all my readers, both new and old, for reading my stuff and for liking it. You guys are great, and I'm grateful that you guys like my stuff and even stick with me. You guys are great._

_What got me to finally write the sequel to A Game of Cat and Mouse was a song named "Animal" by the Cab. The lyrics don't exactly fit, but I feel like the tone is right. I suggest that you guys listen to it, it's a nice song. As for the fic, I may or may not make it a trilogy, who knows..._

_At any rate, I hope you enjoy!_

**Hetalia and its characters are not mine**

* * *

_I wish I could give you my love and my soul_

_But inside my chest there is nobody home._

_My heart may be missing,_

_But my hands will make up for it_

_Don't think this is innocent_

_I'll sink my teeth right into it_

_My eyes and my mouth agree_

_You'll be coming home with me_

_'Cause girl you know, 'cause girl you know_

_'Cause girl you know, I'm an animal_

_Animal_

_I'm just a animal_

_Animal_

""""""""

A bright day. The sun's rays beating on him. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Pants and little sharp breaths heard in intervals.

Step. Step. Step.

Alfred F. Jones kept a steady pace as he jogged through the dirt path of the park. He paid no attention to the smiling faces, paid no attention to the cries of childish joy as children played.

Only one thing filled his mind, and that was his angel.

He recalled with fond remembrance Matthew's infuriated lecture the day he revealed to him that he had marked an angel. His lecture had been peppered with profanities and death threats and the death threats he'd receive from the greater devils, but unsurprisingly enough, Alfred hadn't given a damn of what his brother and what the greater devils thought.

The deed was done, and Alfred didn't regret it a single bit. Unfortunately, he singlehandedly managed to piss off every greater devil and their dog with his stunt.

So he had run away.

As much as Alfred didn't care for the greater devils, he couldn't get rid of them in one fell swoop. He could if he truly wanted to, but it would be an arduous task that was not worth the effort. No, he didn't plan on wasting his powers on _them_.

So he had run away into the only other world accessible to him: the human world. He had put a glamour on himself to make himself appear human and had been living as one ever since. The entirety of the Underworld was looking for him, but his glamour was strong enough to fool even a greater devil. To everyone else, he was just some blonde guy with blue eyes and a cowlick who had a habit of wearing sweats. He was safe.

But he was so _bored._

Alfred paused at the side of the path to take a breath. He took a quick scan of his surroundings. There was an elderly couple strolling on his right, some brats flying a kite on the left. Flipping a mental coin, he snapped his fingers. The children exclaimed in shock as their kite suddenly flew violently against the wind. Alfred watched the kite's short journey to a nearby tree, watching as it got stuck into the tree's foliage.

Child's play, but beggars couldn't be choosers. It was the small tricks like these that made his time as a human bearable. It was boring as hell though, but he couldn't afford to risk making too much of a ruckus seeing as he couldn't alter memories, so he just had to make do. _All right, what else can I do...? _

His eyes traveled from the tree- where the children were now gathering to bemoan their misfortune- to the park bench situated a little to the tree's right. Sitting on the bench was a male with messy blonde hair wearing a green pea coat and black pants. A book was on his lap, although it had no title nor author. The male was rubbing both of his arms, apparently cold.

_Wait a second... _With another snap of his fingers, Alfred sent a small burst of magic to push the male off his seat. With a 'thump', the male fell face-forward on the dirt. Alfred froze as the male propped himself up and started to spit out dirt. _It can't be..._

Alfred jogged up to him. "Dude, you okay? That was one hell of a fall."

The male looked up, his green eyes hidden behind glasses instinctively examining Alfred. _Well then, _Alfred thought as he took a better look of the male. He didn't need telling twice that those glasses were power limiters, or the identity of this 'human' male. _This is an interesting twist._

Alfred outstretched his hand. "Need some help getting up?" The male nodded and took his hand. Alfred pulled him up to his feet effortlessly. "What happened?"

"I..." A wary look crossed the male's eyes. He was shaking rather violently. "I-I'm not sure."

Alfred tilted his head in interest. "You okay? You're shaking right now..."

"I am?" The male smiled weakly as he rubbed his arm. "I-It's nothing, I just... I get cold really easily."

"In this heat?"

"I'm, uh... Not from here."

Alfred chuckled. _Man he's a terrible at this. _"No kidding. I mean, you didn't say 'thank you' after I helped you, so it's _pretty_ obvious that you're not from these parts."

The other flushed. "How rude of me, I apologize. Err, thank you, uh..."

"Call me Al." Alfred extended his hand yet again. "And may I know the name of the foreigner I just helped? Please tell me you have some weird foreign name or something 'cause that would be soooo cool."

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but my name is hardly odd." The other took the Alfred's hand. "It's Arthur."

_He really_ is _terrible at this._ Alfred had to suppress a laugh as he shook the other's hand. "Nice t'meetcha Artie!"

"I-it's Arthur, not Artie." Arthur shook his hand a little after Alfred let go.

"Details, details." Al waved his hand. His eyes fell to the ground. "That book yours?" He asked casually as he bent down to pick it up.

"Huh? Yes, yes it is!" Arthur quickly snatched the book out of Alfred's hands. "You didn't read any of it, did you?"

_Curiouser and curiouser. _"It's not porn, is it?"

"O-of course not! Just who do you think I am?"

_Someone appallingly terrible at interaction. _"One hell of a weird guy, that's for sure," Alfred said with chuckle. "But nah, I didn't see anything from your book of secrets."

"G-good. That's good..." Arthur straightened himself up and clutched his book at his side. "At any rate, I'm afraid that I am rather busy at the moment, so I'll be on my way. Thank you for helping me up."

"No problem man, but if it's not too much to ask, what kind of urgent business are you on? 'Cause I doubt reading a book is a life-shattering event."

"That's classified."

"'Classified', huh..." An idea popped up in Alfred's head. "I'll see you around then Artie."

He patted Arthur on the shoulder and jogged away, a smile on his face.

_Interesting indeed._

""""""""

_I didn't think he was_ this _foolish._ Alfred thought as he walked up the stairs. He was acutely aware that Arthur was following him, no matter how much the other thought he was hidden. However, he couldn't suddenly confront him- that would ruin all the fun.

He got off at the third floor and started making his way towards the apartment room he had rented. _I wonder, what will the little cat do now?_ He thought as he unlocked the door to his room.

"H-hey! Are you Al?"

"Artie?" Alfred tilted his head as he turned towards Arthur, who was at the end of the hall. "Don't tell me you live here too?"

"Y-yeah, I, uh, I moved here last week." Alfred felt pity for the other. It was truly painful watching the other try to seem calm as he lied. "I didn't know you lived here too."

"One hell of a coincidence, huh?" Alfred held the door open. "Want to come over for a while?"

"Yeah, that would be nice..."

Alfred waited as Arthur timidly walked up to him, nervousness radiating off of him. _Let's see how this unfolds now, shall we?_

"So..." He closed the door behind them as they entered the apartment room. "Make yourself at home."

He led Arthur inside a plain, medium-sized room. The room had undecorated white walls that were more or less clean and carpets that were more or less light brown. A black sofa was in the center of the room, a coffee table in front of that. A small plasma screen TV on top of a shelf was in front of the coffee table, a Wii at the foot of the shelf. At the back of the room was a double-hung window with dark blue curtains pulled at its side, a small kitchen to the right of the window that had the bare essentials a kitchen needed. A short corridor was to the right of the sofa, two doors on either side of the corridor.

"Very... nice this place is."

"Eh, it's enough." Alfred walked past him into the living room. True enough, it was hardly the fanciest abode Alfred had ever lived in, but it wasn't like he was planning to live here forever. "Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Hot chocolate? Bourbon?"

"You can drop the act now," Alfred was slightly shocked at the other's cold reply. _Not here for games huh? _"I know that you're not human, 'Al'... Or should I say, 'Alfred'."

Alfred turned to him and smirked. "And here I was starting to doubt whether or not you deserved all your fancy titles. Considering that it took you a while to recognize me last time, I'm quite impressed that you didn't need any hints this time around." He plopped down on the sofa. "What gave me away?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I have my ways. Plus, if you're going to use a pseudonym, at least use one that isn't close to your actual name."

"Little angel, you're hardly one to lecture me on managing to stay hidden. Your performance was so terrible that even a lesser demon could tell a mile away that you weren't human. For one thing, at least I had actually _used_ a pseudonym. I'll have you know that 'Al' is a rather common name around here, so it's pretty sound to use it." He gestured to Arthur. "And I'd like to point out that if you're going to use glamour, at least have the good grace of picking an appearance that isn't a carbon copy of your normal form... You know, minus the wings and the toga and stuff." He tapped the side of his head. "Loving the glasses though- tell me, since when did you start using power limiters?"

"I see you're not wearing yours."

"I'm not going to do anything while in this form, so why bother?" Alfred shrugged before smiling, although he admittedly missed his glasses. However, seeing as his human appearance wasn't too far off from his natural form, he wasn't going to give himself away because of preferences. "I admit though, I didn't go through the past few months magic-free. I make a point to play a small prank or two every now and then, usually at the park since I find that I have rather... _fond_ memories of it. By the way, I couldn't resist playing a cute trick on you when I had seen you on that bench."

"You'd risk exposing your cover just to have some fun?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"I don't think you realize how utterly _boring_ it is to be human- you can't even fly! Plus, I had to stick my head low and not mess with the law. Do you know how hard that is for someone like me?" He shook his head slightly before looking up again, a sudden thought popping up on his mind. "Incidentally, how do you know my name? I don't believe I ever told you what it was." Although he tried to stay casual, it was hard to hide his anger this time around. _Why does he know my name? What else does he know about me?_ Something akin to fear gripped his chest.

"I'm not stupid," Arthur retorted refusing to answer Alfred's question directly.

"I know you aren't." Alfred leaned forward, trying to stop a sigh of relief from escaping. "But I wonder, why haven't you tried to kill me yet?" His angel was practically roaring for blood last time they met, yet now Alfred couldn't sense any form of hate from him. "You seem to have known who I was the whole time, and yet you didn't make a move against me. Even now we're just pleasantly chatting." He spread out his arms. Where was the fight he was anticipating? "Is it because you're in glamour, or...?"

"I've decided to save you."

_You have got to be shitting me._

Alfred burst into raucous laughter. "'Save me?' You want to _save_ me? Darling, there ain't no use trying to save a devil."

Arthur folded his arms across his chest, a stubborn expression on his red face. "Devils have been converted into angels before."

"And angels have become devils before." Arthur flinched at Alfred's retaliation. "See? I have as much desire to be one of you as you do towards becoming one of us."

"It doesn't matter; I'll still try to help you. It's why I'm an angel in the first place- to help those in need."

Alfred leaned back and slung an arm across the sofa."You really are cute you know, thinking that you can help me." _This _is _a joke, right? There's no way he could possibly mean any of this. _And yet, Alfred was curious as to what brought this upon his angel. He needed to know more. "Hate to break it to you doll, but I'm a lost cause. Just take one look at me." He gestured to himself. "I'm on the run from my own kind since they figured out that I marked the angel who- get this- is coincidentally the one sent to kill me! I've betrayed my own species, and I sure as hell don't plan on staying 'human' forever. If that doesn't spell 'lost cause', I don't know what does."

Panic flitted through Arthur's eyes. "How do you know that I've been assigned to exterminate y-?'"

"I'm not stupid either you know." Alfred chuckled, his eyes glancing over the book still in Arthur's arms before looking back up at Arthur himself. He had a foggy guess as to what the book was, but he wanted to see how much he could get out of his angel without using Charmspeak first. After all, it was much better to fight once you knew what the opponent knew. "Point is, you're supposed to kill me and I'm supposed to kill you, and yet here we are at close proximity to each other and _not_ duking it out, all because you want to save me."

"A rather accurate description if I do say so myself."

_Defiant to the end._ Really, the presence of his angel made the last few months worth it in Alfred's opinion."Man, our relationship sure is unusual, isn't it?" He let out a small chuckle. "An angel and a devil... A pair that was never meant to be."

It was stupid, really, for Alfred to have marked Arthur all those years ago. A devil and an angel were arch-enemies for a reason. He may be dead-set in defying the greater devils, but even he had to agree with them that this may not have been the brightest thing he could have done in his life. Sure marking an angel brought considerable fun, but... _Why decide to save me?_ That perplexed Alfred the most. What perplexed him even more was the feeling that came with the angel's declaration. _Why is he doing this?_

_For me?_

"Why," Alfred snapped back to reality at the sound of Arthur's voice. "Why did you mark an angel? Why did you choose me?"

Alfred thought back on the day he had first met Arthur. "Would you get jealous if I said that any angel would have worked fine?"

Arthur scoffed. "Don't be silly; I have no feelings for you, so why would I be jealous?"

"I don't know about that- I am devilishly handsome after all." Alfred grinned as Arthur rolled his eyes. "Although you're not so bad yourself."

"Tell me the truth Jones."

"You think I'm lying?" Alfred's grin fell as he thought. It was a while before he replied. "If I recall your rant correctly, you had trained so much until you puked. Well, that's my life in a nutshell. Day in and day out I would be forced to study and train until my head was stuffed and my arms were sore. Because of my status and background, I was feared, but it wasn't right. I was feared the moment they learned my name, the moment they realized that I was the the greater devils' little experiment. I wasn't 'Alfred' to them- I was the Underworld's greatest weapon." He looked Arthur directly in the eye. "You were the first to treat me as what I _truly_ was- a devil and nothing more." He cracked a grin. "Albeit a rather powerful one at that."

Immediately, he saw his angel soften. It was then Alfred realized that he had made a mistake. "You-"

Alfred suddenly burst into laughter. _I shouldn't have said that._ Alfred had no need to be personal with him; Arthur was only a toy, a plaything to be enjoyed while it lasted. Nothing more. "Don't waste your pity on me, little angel; I'm not worth it, and I certainly don't need it. But enough about me, what about you?" He stared at Arthur. "Why the change of heart? Why don't you feel hate towards me anymore? And don't give me that 'saving me' bullshit- you're not serious about that, are you?"

"I think the better question would by why are _you_ not trying to kill _me_?" Arthur retaliated. "I meant what I had said: I want to help you, so I won't kill you. _You_, however, have had enough time by now to murder me fifty times over, and yet you're just sitting there doing nothing."

"You're too interesting. It would be a waste if I lost you this early in the game." Alfred interlocked his hands together and laid them on his belly. "You're pretty much the only thing I care about after all." It was a half-truth really; it was true that Alfred treasured Arthur more than his other toys, but he otherwise had no such attachment to him.

Arthur raised an eyebrow, a small blush rising up on his face. "I didn't know devils were capable of caring about others."

Alfred snorted. "Don't get me wrong darling; I only keep you around because you amuse me. You are correct in thinking, however, that if I was given a choice between obliterating either you or the worlds, I would do away with the worlds." He spoke the word "worlds" with badly-hidden contempt. Toys, things, irritants, they all meant nothing to him, and vice-versa of course.

It was a while before he realized that he was subconsciously staring at Arthur. "I... I have to go." The other stammered, a confused expression on his face.

"Oh really?" _I still need more info,_ he thought as he realized that the conversation had gone off-track. "After such a short visit? Come on, stay for a while, maybe have a shot of bourbon or two."

"I never planned on staying in the first place. I just... I just wanted to talk." Arthur looked away, evidently perplexed about something. _You and me both._ "I stayed long enough. Any longer, and Flying Mint Bunny will wonder what happened to me."

Alfred vaguely remembered hearing that term before. "Your little pet, I take it?"

"He's my companion. He was there for me when no one else was." Arthur narrowed his eyes angrily. "He is _not_ my 'pet'."

"Hm." Alfred started to drum his fingers on his belly. "Your companion you say?" Somehow, that had managed to piss him off. _Arthur's mine; he shouldn't have anyone else._ Alfred blinked. _Focus! You still have yet to extract any important information from him._

"Yes, my companion. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going."

"I don't think so. You _will_ stay. Preferably in that spot and position." Arthur widened his eyes as Alfred's Charmspeak took effect.

"I-I... I..." Alfred laughed as Arthur struggled to say something.

"With a skill like this, succubae and incubi would be stronger than even the greater devils. It really is a pity for them to be too weak to use it on anything stronger than a human." He stood and walked up to Arthur. "Greater devils don't realize that they aren't as 'great' as they claim to be. They refuse to stoop down to a 'lesser demon's' level and learn their skills. Pity, since it's actually very useful, as you can see here." He chuckled. "Well, it's a good thing they wanted their little weapon to learn every skill imaginable in the Underworld, right? Otherwise they would never had let Francis teach me."

He started to circle around the other, his eyes focused on the book in the other's hands. "Describe to me the contents of your book," he demanded once he had circled back in front of Arthur.

"The book is a compilation of the papers detailing my mission."

"Tell me of your mission."

"Best and exterminate the devil lord known as Alfred F. Jones. Intelligence reports that the greater devils have been training him in the hopes of making him the Underworld's greatest weapon. Your mission is to eliminate him as soon as possible."

"Tell me the most updated information you have on the devil lord known as Alfred F. Jones."

"His whereabouts are currently unknown. Intelligence reveals that Jones took part in a scandal. Details of the scandal are currently unavailable. The last angel to have made contact with Jones is the higher angel Arthur Kirkland. Search for him and kill him on sight."

"Said that already." Alfred waved his hand. "Wow, angels sure are redundant. Are devils _really _the inferior species here?" He shrugged. _So Matt was right when he told me that the angels were concerned with me. Not that I doubted him for even a second, but I needed to know how much the angels know. Speaking of which... _"Tell me how you managed to find me."

"I got lucky. I figured that you were most likely in glamour, as hiding in your natural form would be foolish. I searched for you in my regular form before deciding on a whim to search for you while in a glamour. For weeks now, my sense told me that a devil would use their magic against a human at the park. Whether or not my glamour form counted as 'human' or the target had used their magic on an actual human does not matter- I found you in the end after realizing that you looked suspiciously like the target, had a name similar as the target, and because my sense warned me that 'Al' was not human."

"Lucky indeed." Alfred nodded. _That sense of his is interesting indeed._ However, the effort to use Charmspeak was becoming unbearable with the added use of glamour. "Alright then sweetheart, I just have one last question for you before I let you scurry off to your pet." He lifted Arthur's chin so that their eyes met. "What are your feelings regarding the target otherwise known as Alfred F. Jones?"

"You're despicable." Alfred grinned at Arthur's vehement tone. "One of the lowest beings I've ever had the misfortune of meeting in my life."

Relief washed over Alfred. For all of his angel's talk on saving him, the other still hated his guts. _As he should._ "I feel touched."

"However, you have hope." Alfred's froze as the words continued to tumble out of Arthur's mouth. "Your last words to me in our last meeting was for me to stop being bitter and find happiness. Even now, you seem to hold, for lack of a better word, a certain kind of affection to me that is not expected of your kind, especially with your history. You have hope," Arthur said firmly. "And I plan to exploit it."

Neither said anything for a while. Finally, Alfred laughed as he let go of Arthur's chin. "You really are someone worth keeping around. All right, you're free to move around now."

Alfred clenched his teeth as he made his way back to the sofa. As interesting as his toy was, he did _not_ want this twist in his little game. And yet...

"I'll be taking my leave then," Arthur said curtly as he turned his back on Alfred and started making his way to the door.

"Take care on your way back little angel. A certain pesky fiend knows of your existence, and I'd hate for him to get to you."

Arthur snorted. "Just who do you think I am? I can handle anything the Underworld can throw at me."

"Not me."

"One day." He clenched a fist at his side. "Count on it."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "I thought you gave up on trying to kill me."

"I didn't 'give up'. I meant it when I said that I'll try to save you. However, that doesn't mean that I won't pick a fight with you."

_Then why aren't you picking one with me right now?_ "You really are a curiosity, little angel."

"Tell me something I don't know." Arthur opened the the door. "Incidentally, who is this 'pesky fiend' you speak of?"

"My brother."

"I was expecting someone much worse."

Alfred threw his head back and laughed. "Don't underestimate him. He is _my_ brother after all. Hey," he said, this time without laughter in his voice. "Come back to visit. I won't be going anywhere."

Arthur didn't reply. He closed the door as he leaved.

"Not even a goodbye." Alfred let out a little sigh. His eyes lingered on the door. "Stay safe little angel," he murmured to no one in particular. A smile slowly worked its way on his lips.

"The game's just changed course."

""""""""

"You actually came back." Alfred leaned on the door frame. "I didn't think you'd come back the day after."

Arthur snorted. "Of course I would. I have to keep an eye on you after all, so it wouldn't be too wise to return late."

"Oh? Is that your mission now?" Alfred quickly looked Arthur over. He was wearing a forest green coat and black pants. "Nice clothes. At least you have human attire down."

"Do you take me for a fool? It's not that hard. I _have_ been helping humans out after all; their clothes is something I can't help but notice."

"Except..." Alfred plucked the other's glasses from his face. "There, that's much better!"

"Give it back, I need them!" Alfred moved his hand away as the other tried to retrieve his glasses.

"Doubt it." Dust fell from his hand as he crushed Arthur's glasses. "Unless you actually plan to use your powers?"

"They weren't mine in the first place!" Alfred shrugged.

"At any rate, for today, I'll be the teacher and you'll be the student. While you may have human fashion down, you still have a bit to learn when it comes to acting like one, so we're going out today! However, there are some rules you have to follow." He held up his hand. "Number one: When we're out there, don't make any references to either of our pasts or of our species. You don't want to blow our cover, don't you?"

"What do you take me for?" Arthur snapped. "And where are you taking me in the first place?"

"Number Two-" He blatantly ignored the other. "-You will not question my attitude _at all,_ capisce? Pretend as if you've known me your whole life."

"What do you mean by tha-?"

"_And finally-_" Alfred grinned widely. "You are Arthur Kirkland, a 23 year old aspiring writer and best friend to 19 year old Alfred F. Jones. Even though we're roughly the same age, you're such a prick that I thought it would be best if you were the older one here."

"Hey, I am _not_ a prick!" Arthur crossed his arms across his chest. "Nor am I your friend!"

"What are you then?"

"Your caretaker."

Alfred couldn't help but laugh at that. "Man, what are you, my brother? If there's anyone that needs taking care of, that would be you sweetie."

Arthur blushed. "Will you quit calling me those infernal nicknames? I prefer to be called by my proper name."

"I prefer not to." Alfred's laugh quiet end down to a faint chuckle. "Can we leave now? I've had enough with all this chatter."

Arthur widened his stance in an attempt to look strong. "I refuse to go with you until you tell me where we're going."

"What, do you think I'll lead you to a trap?" His grin widened when Arthur maintained a stony silence. "Darling, I hardly had any time to make a trap strong enough for one such as you. Nah, we'll just be seeing the sights for today." He got off the door frame. Arthur stepped back to allow him some room as he closed the door, bending down with his keys in his hand to lock it. "What'd you think we were going to do today anyways?"

"I... Um..." The question had obviously caught Arthur off guard. "I don't know..."

"Exactly." Alfred turned towards him after a 'click' of the door lock. "So enough with the questions and let's go."

''''

"What is this place?"

"You've never heard of WcDonalds?" Alfred was genuinely surprised. "Man, your place must be as terrible as you say."

"It's not my fault we don't have any of those!" Arthur glanced again at the restaurant. He rubbed his arms nervously. "It doesn't look particularly... refined. Alfred, you know I'm not used to these kinds of things."

"You just haven't experienced the wonders of fast food then." Arthur started a little when Alfred took hold of his hand. "But that's what I'm here for!"

He dragged Arthur inside the restaurant. Humans happily talked as they sloppily ate their food. He felt Arthur tighten his hold on Alfred's hand as he looked around, visibly uncomfortable being around this many humans in such a confined place. Alfred led Arthur to the shortest line.

"Nice performance," Alfred murmured once they found their place. "I didn't think that you could actually do it."

Arthur glanced at him apprehensively. "Aren't you breaking the first rule?"

"Don't you remember? I don't like following rules. Plus, nobody'll hear us over this din." Alfred grinned. "Although I didn't think you were much of a hand-holder."

"Hardly." Arthur snatched his hand away, his face burning. "I've been inside buildings before."

"Not like this though." Alfred chuckled. Really, this was just too cute. "You know, it's okay to be nervous."

Arthur shivered. "I'm not nervous."

"Then what are you shivering for?"

"I..." He hesitated. "Fine, I'm a bit nervous."

"Now was that so hard? Feel free to hold my hand if you want to." Arthur's eyes narrowed angrily at him as they approached the counter.

"What can I get y-? Hey Alfred." The lady at the counter smiled. "Just the usual, right? Oh, and thanks for the help the other day; moving is such a pain in the ass. Honestly, I don't think that I could have moved half those boxes without that monstrous strength of yours."

"No problem, I _am_ the hero after all." Alfred returned the girl's smile. The real pain in the ass was pretending to be human all the time. "But yeah, the usual would be nice."

Her eyes shifted over to Arthur. "What about your friend over there?"

His shaking turned into a small start. "I-"

"Just a regular burger, thanks." Alfred reached into his pocket and fished out some cash. Arthur looked up at him as the girl turned her back on them.

"_Hero_?" Alfred chuckled.

"Art, I thought you were my best friend. Don't you know by now that I like to read comics? I find the heroes in them to be rather fascinating."

"Come again!" Arthur was saved from responding by the arrival of their orders. Alfred took their food and dragged Arthur by the hand to the corner of the restaurant. He promptly dumped their food and sat down.

"You know, just what is it with you and breaking my rules?" He asked as Arthur sat down. "Next thing I'll know, you'd have found another partner.

"I'm not unfaithful, and unlike you, I don't break rules on pur- My word, what in the world is that?" Arthur asked as Alfred unwrapped his food. "I swear, it's bigger than my face."

"No worries doll, yours is much smaller. And they're called burgers. Second best thing the humans have to offer, minus themselves." Alfred's eyes zeroed in on Arthur's unopened one. "You gonna eat that, or will I?"

"Of course I will." He watched Arthur open his (which was a regular one, mind you) shakily and timidly take a bite out of it. "On second thought, maybe you should have it."

"Your loss," Alfred said as he took Arthur's burger and downed it in one bite. "Come on, they're fucking amazing."

"They're vile, that's what they are." Arthur curled his lip in disgust. "How can you handle eating so much?"

"How can you handle _not _even finishing one? But I guess WcDonalds is off the list of places I can take you."

Arthur looked at him incredulously. "You have a list?"

Alfred shrugged. "I plan to bring you to places I find interesting, although I might have to rethink that list if you don't even like fast food."

Arthur was stunned. "How... thoughtful of you."

Alfred chose to ignore him. "I'm thirsty, I should really get a..." Something caught his eye. "You know, you really should stop that shivering darling, it ain't that cold."

"I'm not doing it on purpose!" The other immediately moved to rub his arm, which had started to shake violently. "Honestly, I'm not even cold or nervous, so I guess it's just my sense at wo-"

A look of horror crossed his face as screams erupted around them. Everyone in the restaurant was lifted up and dangled upside down by their ankles. The machines went crazy, liquids and bolts flying everywhere. As an added bonus, the food started to pelt the humans as they tried to cover themselves, their faces red from the blood-rush.

Alfred casually ate his burger, his head swaying as he saw his magic blanket the restaurant.

"Alfred, you-!" Arthur turned his head around to see a nearby human being violently swung back and forth.

"Go on angel." Alfred snapped his fingers. A large cup of soda flew to him. "Show me what you got."

Alfred watched as Arthur summoned up his powers. Magic emanated out of him as he tried to push away Alfred's magic and makes things right. Alfred purposely gave in, his magic receding as the humans were set down, the machines were fixed, and even the mess caused by the food was cleaned. Arthur clenched his fists as a haze covered the humans, presumably to erase the memories of the past few minutes.

"Regret not eating now?" Alfred asked as Arthur slumped to his seat. The other glared at him.

"I'm not exhausted in the least. I just can't believe you'd do something as incredibly stupid as that. What if another devil or angel noticed that?"

"I'm not worried at the least. I knew you'd clean up after me, so it's all good." Alfred sipped at his drink. He was actually rather proud of his plan- he was killing two birds with one stone. On one hand, he could have some fun. On the other... "By the way, you really should listen to that sense of yours; it's pretty accurate." Worryingly so actually. It really was something Alfred had to keep an eye out for.

"As I've said, I didn't think you were this foolish. I wanted to put some faith in you."

"And you call me foolish." Alfred shook his head. "Why else do you think I took you out? You didn't think that I'd actually take you out for a culture trip, did you? Man, you're a gullible little thing aren't you?"

"You're a complete bastard."

Alfred grinned. "I didn't know angels swore."

"Look, if you're trying to provoke me into a fight, it won't work."

"Whoever said anything about a fight? I'm just doing what my species always do- have fun."

"You know, I'm pretty sure heroes don't do these kinds of things."

"What can I say? I like to play the villain role as well." Alfred drummed his fingers on the table. "Hm, I wonder what my next trick should be~?"

"I'm going." Arthur stood up, his face visibly making an effort not to show his anger. "If you make any more chaos in my next visits, I swear I'll stop seeing you."

To both their surprise, Alfred paused. "Like I care," he finally said with a snort. What was that pause for? Arthur was free to not visit him... Although Alfred would be terribly bored without Arthur around. _Without him, I wouldn't have someone to cover my tracks._ Although, Alfred did have to admit his little angel did have a point about his cover being blown if he pulled any more stunts like that one... It probably wouldn't even be smart to pull another big trick like that for a while. Staying low was key, but staying low was _boring_. Really, it was much better to at least have his angel with him.

"Of course you don't." Arthur's tone was scathing, but his expression was curious. "I'll be going then."

"Good riddance." Right now, Alfred needed to be alone with his thoughts. He watched as Arthur turned his back on him and started to walk away. Something stabbed at Alfred's chest.

"Take care," Alfred said in a low voice. He blinked. What was happening to him?

""""""""

Alfred had lied out of the seat of his pants when he told Arthur about the list. Next time Arthur came, he made up a list on the spot. He ended up bringing Arthur to a game store, a football game, a museum... The gullible little fool, he was lapping it all up. Either he was an idiot or a talented actor, but he truly seemed to believe that Alfred had planned this out, that he was a thoughtful guy. At the very least, Alfred had managed to behave himself and keep up his human persona. After his little prank in WcDonalds, he decided to keep things super low-key. That little stunt of his had been larger than anything he had done for a while now, and his little angel had been the reason that it hadn't gone worse. Alfred may have been a devil, but he had some measure of honor to him. His angel deserved a treat, right?

"A library?" Arthur moved ahead of Alfred, his eyes shining. "You took me to a library?"

"Wow, you actually know this one." Alfred whistled, his hands in his jeans pockets. "Been to one before?"

"Of course! We have libraries at my place as well."

"I never liked libraries as much. It just meant studying to me. But, I figured that since you actually liked that dumb museum, why not take you to a library? The books'll be different from the ones you guys have, that's for sure."

"You didn't like the museum?"

Alfred rolled his eyes at the other's hurt tone. "Who would? Anyways, you hadn't been enjoying the other ones as much, so I figured that maybe someplace I don't enjoy as much would be someplace that you would."

"You're surprisingly thoughtful you know."

"It's all just part of the grand scheme of things."

"I'll believe this grand scheme once I see it." Arthur made a move to walk inside. He was right in front of the doors when he looked back. "Alfred?"

Alfred hadn't moved. He stood rooted to the spot, memories swimming in his head. "Yeah?"

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"Those are words I never expected you to say."

"Things change." Arthur walked up to him. "And so have you."

"I haven't changed one bit." Alfred sighed. "Look, just go inside the library without me. I'll catch up to you."

"No way, I'm not letting you out of my sight." Alfred rolled his eyes again.

"What, do you think I'll do something? Your sense hasn't acted up around me for a while now, you know I won't do anything."

"Why haven't you been doing anything? I would've thought you'd be bored out of your wits right now."

Alfred shrugged. There was no need to tell him his reason, so why bother? "Are you going to the library or not?"

"How come you won't come with me?"

"I told you, I never liked them much. It just meant studying for me. Right after I'd study, I'd immediately go out to train. Rinse, cycle, and repeat." Alfred looked up. "The sky is nice today."

"Pardon?"

"There are a few things I truly like, and the sky is one of them. It's pretty free, the sky." Alfred paused after his monologue. "Fight me."

"Huh?" Arthur looked startled as he took a step back. "I refuse to."

"Come on, a fight every now and then is healthy for the soul. Plus, everything has been _way_ too tame. A fight would do us good." Alfred was practically begging, something he had never thought he would ever do in his life. He was brought up a mindless weapon, all he ever wanted was some freedom. This, this closeness with another being, it had to end.

A stubborn light shone in Arthur's eyes. "I won't."

"Fight me or I'll kill you."

"You wouldn't dare." Those same stubborn eyes bore into Alfred's. "You know, I actually used to think that saving you was impossible, but the more I interacted with you, the more I realized that it wasn't. After all, if you truly wanted to kill me, you would have already done so. That's proof that you're being converted."

"How exactly are you saving me?"

"I'm not sure myself actually, but perhaps I'm just being a good influence. At the very least, you're nice to me."

"How do you know it's not all just an act?" Alfred challenged.

Arthur folded his arms. "What do you have to gain by winning my affection?"

Alfred went with the first thing that went on his mind. "The look you'll make once I, the devil you like, betray you?"

"Then stop constantly reminding me that you're a devil."

"I remind you because I need to convince you that I'm an incorruptible being of the Underworld and that saving me is pretty damn pointless."

"Who're are you _really_ trying to convince- me, or you?" The question stunned Alfred. "If you're not coming with me, then I'll be taking my leave. I look forward to our next meeting Alfred."

Alfred narrowed his eyes. "Before you go..."

Alfred grabbed the back of Arthur's head and forcefully pulled him in for a kiss. Unlike the last two times they kissed, no pleasure whatsoever came from this one. Alfred felt the other struggle in his grip as he enveloped the other more and more in his magic. Alfred wasn't called "Lighter of the Icy Flames" for nothing- he never did it this way, but flames were his specialty.

But something felt wrong.

Arthur gasped for air as Alfred pulled back. "Alfred, what was-?"

"Go." Alfred refused to meet Arthur's eyes, his head hung low. "Just go."

Next time he looked up, Arthur was gone.

""""""""

Alfred jogged around the park for a longer than usual, but this time was the same as the rest. _Fucking hell Arthur, where are you?_ Alfred was growing impatient. He hadn't seen Arthur for two weeks. _Two weeks._ What made it worse was that Alfred couldn't personally look for him since he had to lay low.

It was funny really, how much he had come to cling on to his little angel. Alfred's common sense told him that he shouldn't spend time with Arthur, that these intimate meetings had to stop. He knew that he was getting too attached to his angel, but he for some reason, _he just couldn't stop._

Something caught his eye. _Shit, no-!_

Sitting on the park bench was a blonde man with curly hair and a slight stubble on his chin. His blue eyes were twinkling as he chatted up the attractive woman next to him, his arms slung on the park bench. Although the man looked deceptively human, Alfred knew better. _Of all the Underworld beings I had to run into, why did I have to run into someone my brother actually knows?! _

Alfred started to jog the other way. Before he could even take two steps, a hand grasped his shoulder.

"Well, well, look at what the cat dragged in. _Mon ami,_ if you are going to disguise yourself as a human, at least have the decency to not wear your trademark jacket and power limiters."

Alfred seethed. Habit and preference had ended up being his biggest downfall. "Francis, get your hand off of me."

Francis retracted his hand as Alfred turned to him. Alfred looked past his shoulder to see the woman he had been talking to sitting daintily at the bench. "Who's the broad?"

"A human treat, but enough about me, what about you? Your brother will be interested to know that the elusive Alfred F. Jones has finally been spotted."

"What do you incubi have to gain from turning me in? We'll still treat you like the scum you lesser demons are." Francis chuckled.

"Some respect, some recognition. As the representative of the incubi and succubae, that is something I always fight for. However, I agree that turning you in would do nothing to help our cause."

"Then why do it?"

"Alfred, you know I treat you two like my own kin. It pains me to see you blatantly defying our cultures and traditions."

"As if you actually care about that crap. You just want to get on my brother's good side."

Francis smiled. "I must say, I'm surprised that someone like you would actually fall for somebody."

Alfred froze. "What are you talking about?"

Francis sighed and slung an arm around Alfred's shoulder, forcing him to walk with him. "Alfred, Alfred, Alfred, you are forgetting what I am. I know love when I see it."

"You see love everywhere."

"Exactly why I am an expert!" They stopped at the side of the path. Francis moved in front of him and gripped both his shoulders this time. "I'll prolong telling your brother about your whereabouts."

"I'll just move somewhere else."

"I didn't think you were a coward." Alfred narrowed his eyes at the term. "You can't run away forever. After all, it's not just about you anymore, is it?"

Alfred narrowed his eyes. "I believe I had made it clear before I left that no one is to even go near him but me."

"Oh yes, abundantly so. I assure you, no one wants to incur your wrath. However..." Francis's eyes gleamed as its natural red. "If news go out that you've gone soft, I'm not sure how that would hold up."

"I haven't gone soft."

"Say what you want, but you have. You've always been all bark and no bite when it came to the beings of the Underworld. For all your power, you are still a child, and you know better than to infuriate your elders." Francis patted his shoulders as he let go of him. "Now then, I must return to my lovely darlings. Enjoy the time I've given you Alfred."

Alfred clenched his fists at his side and said nothing as Francis walked away. After a while, he started to jog back home.

''''

Alfred leaned onto the door frame of his apartment room. "Hey."

"Such a gentleman you are," Arthur quipped.

Alfred shrugged. "Couldn't you have visited sooner?"

"Two weeks is hardly a long time."

"It is when you're human." Alfred sighed. "Hang on, let me get my jacket."

Arthur looked puzzled. "What do you need your jacket for?"

"Why else?" Alfred got off the door frame. "We're going on a date."

"A what?!" The other's incredulous voice rang behind him as Alfred made his way to the living room sofa. "When had I ever agreed to that?!"

"Don't we always do that though? Only this time I'm actually saying that it is." Alfred replied as he picked up the jacket he had haphazardly thrown into the sofa earlier today when he got home. "Get rid of your glamour- we're going to be flying."

"Pardon?!" Arthur grabbed Alfred's arm after he had finished putting on his jacket. "I refuse to go with you until you tell me what's going on!"

"Too bad." Alfred grabbed his arm in turn. "You have to."

Misty black engulfed them both as they teleported.

''''

Alfred shed his glamour as they exited the portal. He extended his wins and started to hover as Arthur gripped him, having not heeded Alfred's advice and remained in his human form.

"Where in the world did you take me?!" Arthur demanded.

"Nowhere in particular." Alfred swished his tail, reveling in the fact that he could do this without fear of blowing his cover. "Man, it's been such a long time since I've used a portal or even flew. I suggest that you lose the glamour as well; as much as I don't mind holding on to you, you have wings for a reason."

"I'll blow my cover!"

"Right now, you look as if you're floating in mid-air. You're _already_ blowing your cover."

Alfred felt the other left go. Instead of falling into the ground, white wings kept Arthur up.

Alfred whistled. "That's better. I missed that toga of yours, you know."

Arthur glared at him as he clenched his fists. "You're despicable."

"Thanks." Alfred smirked. _This was how it should be_, he thought. "Now will you shut up and follow me?"

"Why should I?" Arthur snapped. "You kidnap me to who-knows-where and expect me to blindly follow you?"

"You're the one who said that you needed to keep an eye on me. While it's your choice, isn't it counterproductive if you don't follow me now?" Alfred turned his back on him and started to fly towards their destination, knowing that the other would follow him.

True enough, he did.

"Where are we going?"

"What part of 'shut up and follow me' do you not understand?" Alfred didn't look back as he replied. "Don't you trust me?"

"At the moment? No."

Alfred laughed. If things were normal, he would've answered with a straight-up no. Hell, he wouldn't even try to converse with him.

They spent the rest of the trip silent. In almost no time at all, they were hovering over an island.

"Why did you take me here?" Alfred didn't answer Arthur's question. He dived downwards and landed on his feet once he hit the beach.

"A beach? You brought me to a beach?" Arthur was looking around. The beach was a simple beach really, just sand, ocean, and trees behind them. The only thing of note was that they were the only ones there. "Where is this place anyways?"

"Dunno. I ended up here when I left the Underworld. Stayed here for a while." Alfred sat down facing the ocean. "It's a nice place."

Arthur sat down next to him. "I didn't know devils were sentimental."

"Of course we're not. That sentimental shit is for humans. It's just nice to find somewhere where nothing much happens." Alfred leaned back contentedly as he looked up. Clouds were rolling carefree in the sky, the gentle lull of the ocean cementing the moment. "Nice weather we're having today."

"Why did you take me here, Alfred?" The other drew up his legs. "It's a nice place and all, but you must have some reason."

Alfred hesitated. "Little angel, this is going to be one of those rare times when I actually offer you a warning. That 'saving me' stuff... It just won't happen. I don't need to be saved, much less do I want to be. All I want is to be what I am, and I marked you because you were the first to treat me as such. In hindsight though, marking an angel was one hell of a mistake if said angel would end up trying to help me in the end."

"Then why don't you kill me now? What's stopping you? If you hate it so much, then just do away with me."

"You think I can't?"

"I know you _can. _The real question is why you haven't done so. Obviously you're trying to push me away, and yet you also spent time with me." He heard Arthur sigh. "What exactly is your goal Alfred?"

"My goal?" Alfred chuckled. Did he ever really had a goal in his life? "I'd forsaken my goal when I left the Underworld, if you can even call it that. At the very least, I had a purpose. Now... not so much." _You_, on the other hand, are tasked with exterminating me." He stood up and walked up in front of Arthur. "Come on now- kill me."

"No." Arthur glared back at him. "I said it once, I'll say it again: I refuse to kill you."

Alfred frowned. He had seen it coming, but time was running short. Whatever they had now had to revert back to what it was. "What have you told those superiors of yours then? That you're willfully disobeying orders?"

Arthur fidgeted slightly. "What I do is no business of yours."

"Of course it's my business. You're one of my precious toys after all- I can't have anyone else breaking you before I do."

"And what makes you think you can break me? You can't even get me to deviate from my goal of saving you."

"Little angel," Alfred's words were pointed. "This is getting tiresome. Can you just drop the act and try to kill me already? I can't handle not fighting you."

"Why haven't you tried to fight me in all the times that we've met then?" Arthur challenged.

"Because you didn't try to fight me first. _I_ can fight you at any time, but if you start the battle, then I'll know you'll be into it. And haven't you said before that you'll pick a fight with me?"

"I'm fine with fighting you. I choose not to because I know you'll be expecting me to kill you."

Alfred sighed. "Little angel-"

"And stop calling me 'little angel'," Arthur interjected. "Or any of the other things you've called me until now. Just call me Arthur. I think that we're close enough now for you to do that."

In a split second, Alfred summoned his magic and fashioned a dagger. He tried the conversation route, but in the end, the only thing that could work was force. He lunged, only for Arthur to jump away.

"What are you doi-?!"

Alfred didn't let him continue as he sent the other sprawling on his back with a fireball. Alfred sent another fireball, but Arthur managed to regain himself in time to dodge it. The other stood up, a barrier forming in front of him as Alfred sent more fireballs his way.

"Alfred, just give up!" Arthur yelled as he started to back away. "I won't fight you!"

Alfred broke the other's shield with a beam. Before the other could recover, Alfred managed to fly up to him and lifted him up by the neck.

"You really are cute you know, but this is getting ridiculous. I thought that maybe you were just biding your time, trying to find the right opportunity..." Alfred tightened his grip. "We're in a secluded place. You can go all-out without attracting any unwanted attention. I even attacked you first, and yet..." He let go, Arthur collapsing on his knees and wheezing. "Why?"

It was pointless. Alfred _had_ gone no longer had the drive to fight his angel. He couldn't even hurt him without regretting it. In the short time that they had known each other, Arthur had managed to tame him without even knowing it.

Alfred turned his back on him and summoned a portal. "Make your move soon Arthur. I was caught today, and it was by one of my brother's friends too. It won't be long until my brother finds me. Once my brother finds me, so does the rest of the Underworld." He laughed mirthlessly. "I don't believe in prayers, but I pray that he doesn't find you. Maybe you should even stay away from me for a while..." Alfred smiled, but it didn't reach his ears. "But you won't do that, no, you 'need to keep an eye on me'..."

He turned towards Arthur. "You want to save me so bad? Play your fucking role."

Turning back, he left.

""""""""

Early morning. The sky was still dark, a cloud not in sight. Nevertheless, Alfred went out for his daily jog despite is better senses.

He only had to open his apartment to see his brother outside.

Alfred didn't even feel shocked. He saw- felt actually- this coming. "How'd you find me so soon?"

"Finding you is child's play," Matthew sneered. He was flying a little above him, white wings flapping and tail a-whipping. "I only needed your general area to be able to sense where you were."

"And yet it took you this long to find me." Sparing no time, Alfred shed his glamour and flew up to meet him face-to-face. "You've gone rusty, brother."

"And you've gone soft." Matthew's eyes flared. "Al, just how stupid could you be for marking an angel? Even more to actually care about him, or so Francis says."

Alfred shrugged. "He claims that I have, but he doesn't have any evidence to prove it."

"Al..." Matthew let out an exasperated sigh. "Just come back home already, this is ridiculous."

"Matt, I'm tired of being their little super-powered pet. I just want to be myself for once."

"Where will you go then?" Matthew challenged. "You can't run to the Overworld and you can only masquerade as a human for so long. You're part of the Underworld no matter what you do."

"It's not being part of the Underworld that I mind."

"_Al_." Matthew narrowed his eyes. "They're everything that we have. We have no choice _but_ to obey them."

Alfred folded his arms. "I guess we've reached an impasse then."

"I don't want to fight you Al."

Alfred grinned as he spread out his right hand. "Who does?"

Immediately he threw a fire ball at his brother, who dodged it just in time. Matthew's eyes flashed as the wind suddenly picked up. He charged at Alfred, who only flew higher.

"You can't beat me Matt, you know that!" Alfred yelled as he sent a fire beam. Matthew brought up a barrier, which broke on impact. He flew upwards to dodge the beam at the same time Alfred felt something cut his sides.

"What the-?" Alfred saw the two royal purple cyclones that had hit him make its way back towards him. Before he could even react, a green barrier was put up in front of him and absorbed the force of the two blows. _Shit. _

"Alfred, are you all right?" He looked back to see Arthur flying nearby.

"ARE YOU A FUCKING IDIOT, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"Helping you!" Arthur flew down at breakneck speed to charge at Matthew. Matthew took one look at the angel and immediately sent a small cyclone after him. He watched as Arthur tried to dodge it, only to have the cyclone follow after him. He heard Arthur yelp as it collided with him, cuts appearing everywhere he had skin.

Before Alfred knew it, his hands were wrapped around Matthew's throat, strangling noises coming out from the other.

"I told you before Matt, didn't I?" Matthew made more pained noises as Alfred's hand shone blue, his neck becoming red with the heat. "I marked Arthur so he is mine_,_ and no greater devil or lesser demon is to even _touch_ him but me." His grip tightened. "Not even you little brother."

"Alfred, you're killing him!" Alfred was only vaguely aware of his angel trying to rip his hands away from Matthew's neck. "Alfred, let go!"

Alfred's grip tightened momentarily before he finally let go. Matthew struggled to keep flying, his breaths coming in hacks and wheezes.

"I'm through with being the greater devils' weapon. I'm through with hiding."

"You..." Matthew's voice was hoarse. "Al..."

"Send the whole Underworld after me, I don't care Matthew." Alfred summoned up a portal. "I'm free."

The last thing he saw before he left was the sight of violet eyes boring into him, loathing clear on his brother's expression. There was no doubt that Matthew would inform the greater devils of his betrayal. There was no doubt that Alfred could never return back to the Underworld after this.

He was free, but there was nowhere for him to go.


End file.
